"CathyTea;15042821" wrote:
"MadameLee;15042324" wrote:
i'm in a bit of situation. I'm stuck going with my parents to a female relative (can't remember if its sister or sister-in-law) of my dad's fishing/hunting partner for supper next week. I have to take book(s) with me so I 'don't have a meltdown' because I think we stayed too long. But I don't know these people so what am I suppose to do if either the friend (if he's there) or the woman talk to me? It would be one thing if one of them had 20-somethhing-year-old children but from what I heard about from my dad about the families. The man's family I think lost his some family in a car crash he wasn't involved in and his daughter I think didn't want to be involved with the farm? Unless I'm confusing it with someone else. And I think the Sister or SIL doesn't have any children.
Sometimes, when I am in a situation where I might need to talk with people I don't know well (or at all), I review some of the basic rules of politeness and use those as a guideline or a starting point.
Since you'll be younger than your parents' friends, you can start simply by being pleasant and smiling.
You can let them take the lead and answer any questions they might ask you. It's usually a good idea to answer completely, but not to go on and on. (This is something I have to remind myself in case people ask me about anything I'm super interested in, like cello, classical music, teaching, literature, drawing, gardening, birds, or Sims! I have to remind myself, "Two sentences is enough--then only elaborate if they ask for more or develop the conversation!" LOL!)
And it's also sometimes useful to think of a few pleasant comments you might make, such as "Your house is really nice!" or "These cookies are delicious!"
That should be enough to get you through the visit!
1. Be pleasant and smile.
2. Answer questions.
3. Have a few friendly compliments you can give.
How does that sound?
Dad mentioned to me once that the woman has a large (I think he said large) Japanese maple in her front yard.
